Writings and Such

Title: All Good ThingsAuthor: Cold NostalgiaDisclaimer: Don’t OwnClaim: Jem and The HologramsPrompt: 6. LottoCharacters: Eric RaymondWord Count: 410Rating: PGSummary: He is a man on a salvage operation.

One of the nicest things about being the co-owner of Stinger Sound is that Eric never has to travel anywhere. Usually.

The flight from LA to Chicago was long, fraught with talkative tourists, sub-standard service and turbulent weather conditions; blackening his already anxious mood. He knew it was over when the truce was announced. In his mind, The Misfits hit the iceberg the second the feud with the Holograms was over.

There was nowhere for his girls to focus their destructive energies except on themselves. Eric was a silent Cassandra on the day Pizzazz gave into Stormer and decided to grow up. The thought that the woman-child ever could was laughable in itself.

By the time Eric reaches the hotel of the lobby, placating the manager with kind words and offers of reimbursement as he enters, he’s decided that he’s not here to act as a diplomat or save the band from drowning.

He is a man on a salvage operation.

Eric will always be fond of The Misfits. How could he not be, they were his first major signing. However, Eric is not a man of sentiment, business will always come first for him. There is no money to be made in missed concerts, lawsuits, smashed windows or broken furniture.

Eric does not make his way up to the girls rooms. He is content to blend in with the shell-shocked staff and furious guests, taking a small perverse pleasure in their agitated, yet helpless state. Perhaps some part of him will miss this when it’s gone.

The shouting from upstairs is audible, if not intelligible. He doesn’t know what the fight is about, it may be over a groupie, over an item of clothing. It doesn’t matter anymore. He’s already deciding on the track listing of their ‘best of’ record – and who’s coming with him.

He knows who isn’t. Jetta was always surplus to requirement and guitarists like Roxy are a dime a dozen. It’s the other two that are giving him trouble.

Eric can’t have both. No matter how much he wants to.

Pizzazz has the voice and the charisma. Stormer has the talent. Stormer, however, will never fill arenas and Pizzazz… is Pizzazz. Eric hates the uncertainty and he doesn’t think he’ll ever know that he made the right choice until the solo album has been released and tour dates are announced.

It’s like blindly picking numbers in the dark. And Eric was never a gambling man.

Pizzazz would have better short-term success, maybe, but I think Stormer would be better for a long-haul career. She'd be more likely to team up with other artists and collabrate, and she wouldn't alienate people. Still, it would be hard to pass up on the immediate payoff that you'd get with Pizzazz, so I can see is dilemma.

I loved this show, back in the day, though I always wanted to smack a few of them around. :D